Boxing returns to Ashington with a bang on Saturday as Fighting Chance host a bill featuring not one but two North East derby title fights.

Fresh on the heels of Tyneside promoter Steve Wraith taking boxing back to St James’ Park, it’s now the turn of Fighting Chance - who head to Ashington to host the first boxing show there since 1936.

At the top of the bill there is Danny Wall, of nearby Pegswood, clashing with Ashington-born, Darlington-trained Steve Cooper for the super middleweight British Challenge belt.

The bill will also include some top prospects in the region including Durham’s Tommy Ward, Forest Hall’s Lewis Ritson and Darlington’s Henry Thomas, who has his second professional contest after becoming the first British amateur to win the famous Golden Gloves title in USA.

Fighting Chance Promotions director Lewis Pendleton said: “We’re really happy with the show that we’ve put together and we really think we’re giving fans value for their money with the bill.

“It’s not the most ideal scenario that led to it. Our planned show in Morpeth needed to be rescheduled after the venue realised too late on that its licence to host professional boxing had expired.

“Unfortunately there was little we could do about that. It’s the venue’s responsibility to make sure they had that and it was just a clerical error.

“The important thing for us as promoters – and also managers – was to make sure that the boxers on that Morpeth show could still get the opportunity to box because we see how much work they put in.

“It’s actually been a blessing because the little delay allowed us to add Tommy Ward to the bill too and his pedigree and class instantly mean fans get better value for their ticket money.”

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He continued: “I think this bill has proven the amount of strength in depth that we have in the North East because not every fighter who wanted to appear on the bill has been able to be accommodated.

“One fighter I’m particularly looking forward to seeing is Darlington’s Henry Thomas. With his amateur pedigree he’s one to look out for - as is Lewis Ritson. We’re looking at the bigger picture at Fighting Chance and trying to do things a bit differently.

“There are quality fighters on this bill like Tommy Ward and Lewis Ritson who you would normally expect to headline, but what we’ve done is make the Wall-Cooper title fight the headline.

“They’re the hometown boys and them headlining a bill as boxing returns to Ashington for the first time in 70 years is bringing them plenty of extra publicity - which is good for the show, but also good for them going forward too.”

The bill will also feature the highly-anticipated rematch between Gateshead’s Tom Whitfield and Hartlepool’s Dan Cope.

The pair produced a to-and-fro, thrilling encounter when they met back in March 2015 with the Mal Gates-trained Whitfield emerging victorious by just a single point. This time the Northern Area welterweight title is up for grabs, but Pendleton is struggling to split them.

“It’s genuinely 50-50,” he said.

“The last time they met it was such a tight encounter and every time I think about it I change my mind about who I think will win.

“The two respect each other a lot but they’re rivals. Dan wants to avenge that defeat badly, but Tom is motivated to repeat his win. Not every fight on the bill can be like this, but going forward these 50-50 fights are the type we want to provide more of.”